Mutators
Configurable Mutators are a new set of gameplay modifications introduced on Day 8 of Hoxton's Housewarming Party. Overview Mutators are additional rules that can be set during the pre-game to "spice up" things a little bit during the heists proper. Mutator effects can range from simplifying gameplay, to tactically handicapping players, to even comical and downright chaotic hilarity. Gameplay changes applied by Mutators do not reflect actual mechanics during normal sessions and should only be taken with a grain of salt. Playing with Mutators active will disable most achievement and Safe House trophies progress. Also, some mutators will have an imposed deduction of earned cash and XP (and combining specific mutators will lead to a maximum of a 50% deduction), but cleaner costs will also be waived. Lobbies with active Mutators will have a pink-purple outline on the Crime.net screen to help with identification. Instead of being colored yellow, the assault wave indicator will be in violet if a mutator is active. Mutators Mutators= : This mutator allows the host to configure how much more or less damage per attack the whole crew will receive during gameplay. The base value for the damage multiplier is , and can not go above or below . ---- : This mutator allows the host to set a health multiplier for all enemies encountered during gameplay. The base value for the health multiplier is , and can not go above or below . ---- is active.}}}} : While this mutator is active, all normal enemies during an assault will be replaced with Medics and Bulldozers will replace other special types. Scripted spawns or map-specific enemies will still initially appear, but additional units will not spawn later. : Additional modifiers: * cash and XP gained per mission. * Cleaner costs do not apply. ---- is active.}}}} : While this mutator is active, all normal enemies during an assault will be replaced with the player-chosen special unit. All special units bar SWAT Van Turrets, Snipers, and Captain Winters may be selected for this effect. Due to the sheer amount of hostiles per wave, this mutator effectively circumvents the special unit cap. Scripted spawns or map-specific enemies will still initially appear, but additional units will not spawn later. : Additional modifiers: * cash and XP gained per mission. * Cleaner costs do not apply. ---- is active.}}}} : While this mutator is active, all enemies will explode when killed, dealing the same amount of damage as the final blow in a -meter radius. The blast radius can be as large as meters and as small as . Bulldozers in particular have an additional parameter that allows them to "go nuclear", dealing massive damage to anything caught in the blast. : Additional modifiers: * cash and XP gained per mission. * Cleaner costs do not apply. ---- is active.}}}} : While this mutator is active, all shotgun kills will cause their victims to ragdoll and levitate above the player in a circle. Selecting "To the Mothership!" will cause killed law enforcers to be pulled up into the sky and vanish instead. : Additional modifiers: * cash and XP gained per mission. * Cleaner costs do not apply. ---- : While this mutator is active, shooting a fellow player with a non-explosive weapon or striking them with melee will harm them just as one would on an enemy. By default, any friendly attack will deal weapon damage, but can either be lowered to or increased to . ---- : While this mutator is active, upon downing a player, a Cloaker will trigger a special effect, ranging from a set of explosions (Explode), a flame patch around the downed player (Fire Trap), or a simple vision-impairing smokescreen (Smokescreen). By default, only one effect (Explode) will trigger during play, but setting the parameter to Random will result in a different effect each time a Cloaker successfully kicks down someone. : Additional modifiers: * cash and XP gained per mission. * Cleaner costs do not apply. ---- weaker enemies. and are active.}}}} : While this mutator is active, all enemies will split into slightly smaller and weaker clones of themselves until they can split no more. By default, the maximum amount of splits an enemy can undergo is , but can be lowered to or increased to , with more splits meaning weaker enemies. : Additional modifiers: * cash and XP gained per mission. * Cleaner costs do not apply. ---- : While this mutator is active, all Bulldozers encountered will sport a SWAT riot shield on their left side that blocks most incoming damage just like a regular Shield unit would. : Additional modifiers: * cash and XP gained per mission. * Cleaner costs do not apply. ---- }} : While this mutator is active, all Bulldozers encountered will be replaced with the headless variant from the Safe House Nightmare seasonal heist. : Additional modifiers: * cash and XP gained per mission. * Cleaner costs do not apply. |-|Trivia= *'BFFs' may be a reference to and its Heavy and Medic classes, whom the Bulldozer and PAYDAY 2 Medic have a number of similarities to. The Heavy and Medic are an efficient combo in-game due to the Heavy's high health and powerful weaponry and are often paired with each other in fandom. *The name and effects of the Creeps mutator is a reference to the Creeper mob of , which explode when in close proximity to players, however, not when killed. *The Hydra mutator is a reference to the myth of Greek mythology, in which the beast is described to grow back multiple heads if one was chopped off. Bugs * The Hydras mutator may cause split enemies to become stuck in the level geometry. This is more likely to happen when enemies split in small, confined areas. Trophies Trophy-Evolution.png| | Complete any heist with an active mutator.| The living room.}} Trophy-Mercenary.png| | Complete any heist with the Friendly Fire mutator active, without hurting another player, while playing on the Death Wish difficulty or above. This trophy requires four players in the heist.| The living room.}} Trivia *As can be seen from the announcement site comic strip, the presence of Mutators in the game is handwaved as part of a boardgame being played by the player crew; the game being "Clowns & Cops: Mutator Edition". The box's cover art depicts a cartoony version of Dallas being chased by what looks to be an equally-silly Cloaker with a nightstick. **The box itself is a parody of that of the boardgame, the playing board and character pieces are reminiscent of those in , and the game's name and apparent gameplay are references to . *The term "Mother-Bain" from the Extraterrestrial Heisters description is a reference to Mother Brain, one of the main antagonists of the Metroid video game series. Category:Gameplay (Payday 2)